***
Marsha gathered her courage and knocked on the door of the hotel room. Ben answered. His face brightened when he saw her.
“Marsha.”
“Hi, Ben.” She looked past him to the bed, where a suitcase lay open, partly filled. “Almost done packing?”
“Almost. Did you come to say goodbye?”
“No.” She glanced down, took a deep breath, and lifted her eyes to his face. “Actually, I came to see if the offer to ride shotgun is still open.”
The corners of his eyes crinkled. “Absolutely.”
“Good, because Lindy and I would like to ride along.”
His face creased into a wide grin. “Excellent. What made you change your mind?”
She hesitated. “I was thinking about Eric, about the things we planned to do someday. I should realize, more than most people, that you never know how many days you have left. I think I’ve wasted too many days already.”
Ben picked up his hat from the chair and stepped closer to her. He put his finger under her chin to tip her face up. “Welcome to the journey.” He kissed her lightly, and set the straw hat on her head. “I’m glad you decided to come.”
She smiled up at him, tilting her head back to see past the brim. “Me too. I’ll go pack. Is there anything in particular I need to bring?”
“Only yourself and whatever Lindy might need. Shall I pick you up in about an hour?”
“Perfect. I can hardly wait.”
She could hear him whistling as he shut the door behind her. She picked up the melody, humming, as she walked back to her car, still wearing Ben’s hat. She was halfway home before she put a name to the tune she had been humming. “California, Here I Come.”
If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review on Goodreads or wherever you obtained Detour on Route 66.
Coming in September 2013:
Recalculating Route
Choices: Story 6
By Beth Carpenter
An excerpt from
Recalculating Route